U.S. Home Foreclosures Increase By 121% From Previous Year

RealtyTrac® (realtytrac.com), today released its Q2 2008 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report™, which shows foreclosure filings were reported on 739,714 U.S. properties during the second quarter, a nearly 14 percent increase from the previous quarter and a 121 percent increase from the second quarter of 2007. The report also shows that one in every 171 U.S. households received a foreclosure filing during the quarter.

“Although much of the fallout from foreclosures is being driven by rampant activity in a few states, such as Nevada, California, Florida, Ohio, Arizona and Michigan, most areas of the country are seeing at least some increase in foreclosure activity,” said James J. Saccacio, chief executive officer of RealtyTrac. “Forty-eight of 50 states and 95 out of the nation’s 100 largest metro areas experienced year-over-year increases in foreclosure activity in the second quarter.

“Bank repossessions, or REOs, accounted for 30 percent of total foreclosure activity in the second quarter, up from 24 percent of the total in the first quarter,” Saccacio continued. “This shift in the distribution of activity indicates that there is a progression toward purging the problem loans out of the system — at which point the housing market can regain some sense of normalcy. Of course if another surge in defaults occurs, which could well happen later this year, it would refill the foreclosure pipeline and prolong the recovery.”

Nevada, California, Arizona post top state foreclosure rates
One in every 43 Nevada households received a foreclosure filing during the second quarter, the highest foreclosure rate among the states and nearly four times the national average. Foreclosure filings were reported on 24,657 Nevada properties during the quarter, up 26 percent from the previous quarter and up 147 percent from the first quarter of 2007.

Foreclosure filings were reported on 202,599 California properties during the second quarter, the highest total among the states and a rate of one in every 65 households — the nation’s second highest state foreclosure rate. Foreclosure activity in California increased 19 percent from the previous quarter and was nearly three times the level reported in the second quarter of 2007.

With one in every 70 households receiving a foreclosure filing, Arizona posted the nation’s third highest state foreclosure rate in the second quarter. Foreclosure filings were reported on 37,230 Arizona properties during the quarter, up nearly 36 percent from the previous quarter and close to four times the number reported in the second quarter of 2007.

Florida documented the nation’s fourth highest state foreclosure rate in the second quarter, with one in every 78 households receiving a foreclosure filing during the quarter — more than twice the national average. Foreclosure filings were reported on 109,433 Florida properties during the quarter, the second highest total of any state and an increase of nearly 25 percent from the previous quarter.

Despite a nearly 15 percent quarterly decrease in foreclosure activity in the second quarter, Colorado posted the nation’s fifth highest state foreclosure rate — one in every 129 Colorado households received a foreclosure filing during the quarter. Second quarter foreclosure activity in Colorado was still up more than 50 percent from the second quarter of 2007.

Foreclosure filings were reported on 37,689 Ohio properties in the second quarter, the third highest total among the states and a rate of one in every 134 households — the nation’s sixth highest state foreclosure rate. Second quarter foreclosure activity in Ohio was up nearly 21 percent from the previous quarter and nearly 27 percent from the second quarter of 2007.

With foreclosure filings reported on 32,868 properties during the second quarter, Michigan notched the fifth highest total among the states. One in every 137 Michigan households received a foreclosure filing during the quarter, the nation’s seventh highest state foreclosure rate.

Other states with foreclosure rates among the top 10 were Georgia, Massachusetts and Illinois.

Top 20 metro areas include Las Vegas, Phoenix, Miami, San Diego and Detroit
The Q2 2008 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report also ranks the nation’s 100 largest metropolitan areas by foreclosure rate. California and Florida metro areas accounted for 16 of the top 20 metro foreclosure rates, with the California cities of Stockton and Riverside-San Bernardino taking the No. 1 and No. 2 spots.

One in every 25 Stockton households received a foreclosure filing during the quarter — nearly seven times the national average — and one in every 32 Riverside-San Bernardino households received a foreclosure filing during the quarter — more than five times the national average. Other California metro areas in the top 20 were Bakersfield at No. 4, Sacramento at No. 5, Oakland at No. 8, Fresno at No. 9, San Diego at No. 11, Orange at No. 15, Ventura at No. 16 and Los Angeles at No. 19.

Las Vegas documented the third highest metro foreclosure rate, with one in every 35 households receiving a foreclosure filing during the quarter. Foreclosure filings were reported on 21,742 Las Vegas metro properties during the quarter, up more than 25 percent from the previous quarter and up nearly 144 percent from the second quarter of 2007.

The highest ranked Florida metro area was Fort Lauderdale, which ranked No. 6 with one in every 51 households receiving a foreclosure filing during the quarter. Other Florida metro areas in the top 20 were Miami at No. 10, Orlando at No. 13, Sarasota-Bradenton-Venice at No. 14, Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater at No. 17 and Palm Beach at No. 18.

One in every 51 households in the Phoenix metro area received a foreclosure filing during the quarter, ranking No. 7; one in every 66 households in the Detroit metro area received a foreclosure filing during the quarter, ranking No. 12; and one in every 91 households in the Atlanta metro area received a foreclosure filing during the quarter, ranking No. 20.

Texas Commercial Real Estate Market Holding Steady

Despite the downturn in the national economy, Texas’ real estate market remains resilient as major metropolitan areas continues to post gains in employment and population.

That’s according to a report by Houston real estate valuation and consulting firm Lewis Realty Advisors.

“Texas is not completely immune to the national economic downturn. But we continue to see positive trends in real estate and in the overall economy,” says David M. Lewis, founder of the firm.

“Houston, Austin, Dallas/Fort Worth, and San Antonio are the top four gainers in job growth in the nation. Those four cities are also in the nation’s top 10 for population growth,” Lewis says. “When Texas cities dominate the national economic statistics, it signifies that Texas real property is significantly outperforming other regions.”

Texas’ economy has been bolstered by health care, education and technology. However, the energy sector is continuing to drive the state’s economy, particularly in the Houston and Dallas/Fort Worth markets.

The domestic rig count, a measure of oil and gas drilling activity, is at its highest point since 1985. This is fueling demand for more office and industrial space by Texas energy companies and manufacturers of oilfield equipment.